Journal of Materials Science Research; Vol. 6, No. 1; 2017 ISSN 1927-0585 E-ISSN 1927-0593 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Acicular Ferrite Formation and Its Influencing Factors - A Review Denise Loder1, Susanne K. Michelic1 & Christian Bernhard1 1 Chair of Ferrous Metallurgy, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, 8700 Leoben, Austria Correspondence: Susanne K. Michelic, Chair of Ferrous Metallurgy, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, 8700 Leoben, Austria. Tel: 0043-384-2402-2214. E-mail:
[email protected] Received: November 10, 2016 Accepted: November 19, 2016 Online Published: December 31, 2016 doi:10.5539/jmsr.v6n1p24 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jmsr.v6n1p24 Abstract Acicular ferrite is a microstructure nucleating intergranularly on non-metallic inclusions and forming an arrangement of fine, interlocking grains. This structure is known to improve steel properties, especially steel toughness, essentially. The formation of acicular ferrite is mainly affected by steel composition, cooling rate, inclusion landscape and austenite grain size. In recent decades, extensive research has been conducted to investigate these factors. The present paper provides an overview of the impact of published results and the state of knowledge regarding acicular ferrite formation. Special attention is paid to the effect of carbon, manganese and titanium addition to steel, as well as the optimum size, number and composition of non-metallic inclusions. In addition, the reactions during the nucleation and growth of acicular ferrite needles are briefly addressed. Further, characteristics of acicular ferrite and bainite are summarized, which should help to distinguish these similar structures. Keywords: acicular ferrite, cooling rate, non-metallic inclusion, steel 1. Introduction At the beginning of the 1990s, Takamura and Mizoguchi (1990) introduced the concept of Oxides Metallurgy, which focuses on the use of oxidic inclusions to improve the quality of the final product and stabilize the production process.